Obama has launched an attack ad quoting Romney as saying he would not “move heaven and earth” to get Osama bin Laden and suggesting Romney would not have given the go ahead.

This coverage is typical:

Considering what a big deal AxelPlouffe and the media are making, it amazes me that the Romney campaign either is not circulating the video below which is posted at BuzzFeed, or is not circulating it very well because I didn’t see it until Andrew Kaczynski sent out a tweet about it:

Romney: Of course we’d get Osama bin Laden and track him wherever he has to go and make sure he pays for the outrage he’s [inaudible] on America …

Q. Do we move heaven and earth to get him?

Romney: We’ll move everything to get him but I don’t want to buy into the Democratic pitch that this is all about one person …. It’s more than Osama bin Laden, but he is going to pay and he will die.

There have been some press references about Romney’s 2007 clarifications, and the video was posted to another YouTube account a day ago with almost no views.

But the video has not received anything close to the coverage it should have.

This 2007 video completely negates the point of Obama’s attack, and the Romney campaign should have forced it into the national dialogue.

Come on Team Romney, you are going to have to do better than this to win.

After some digging and hunting, I think there is a flip side to this as well. There is something to be said for not responding/reacting to everything the other side does all the time. Whether we all agree with their implementation or the underlying strategy is irrelevant, the Romney campaign absolutely has a plan and, by every discernible measure I can perceive, is following that playbook in a very disciplined manner.

Not too long ago Team Romney was upbraided here for fighting on the enemy’s ground re: the women’s issues but was, I believe, vindicated for it not 48 hours later when Hilary Rosen crammed her foot down her throat hand over fist with regards to Ann Romney. Now, they are being chastised for not responding to Obama’s initiative (or, at least not responding as forcefully and full-throatedly as some would like) and again, Obama’s actions re: Osama bin Laden, DEVGRU, Afghanistan (more importantly, the blogosphere’s reaction to all of it) seems to bear the wisdom of showing some restraint out.

I think the desire by some to assume that Team Romney does not know what they are doing is rather reflexive; it’s downright wishful thinking by others. Given the results we have all seen in the primary, in the national polls and with fundraising projections, I think it might be a safer bet to assume they do know what they are doing, and just might know what they are doing far better than we do. A thought.

SEALs are not the only special operators who are angry with the way Team Obama is handling any of this. I only know a handful of SEALs and SF guys, but they and every Recon Marine I ever served with are unanimously disgusted that the methods and missions we engaged in during the Bush administration, and were often beaten over the head with by Democrats to make political hay then, are embraced, welcomed and encouraged to make political hay now.

It’s not just the special operations community either. Every veteran I know, whether they were combat arms or not, feels used by the fact that this administration cares more about optics and politics than operations and tactics, more about their reelection campaign than our battlefield campaigns.

It is one thing to know that you serve the commander-in-chief, quite another altogether to feel that you and your fellow comrades are merely pawns to be placed on display, props to be rolled out on stage when purpose serves, and wheeled bag to doghouse when purpose passes.

At least when Bush took pause to honor our dead and remember their sacrifices you felt as though he was both sincere and humbled by the men and women he commanded; with Obama you only get the sense that he is checking the box, going through the motions and saying the “appropriate” words because it’s politically astute to do so.

Would that it were just Obama/Biden. During the Bush administration the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Jack Murtha, Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Jackson and a few others were worth a division of al-Qaeda/Taliban each if the number of American lives lost as a result of their actions/betrayals/statements were a measure of their combat lethality.

In fact, I would argue that more Americans have American blood on their hands than anyone over here in Iraq or Afghanistan (anyone still alive that is). That was the hardest part for so many of us: knowing that some of our worst enemies were sitting back in the States in the safety of their homes and offices, actively sniping us from the sidelines simply for the sake of partisan politics.

It’s just more proof that we don’t need these guys anymore. They’re not our gatekeepers. They’ve proven it over and over: ACORN. Rielle Hunter. Van Jones. Anthony Weiner. They keep trying and failing to cover up stories that don’t suit their agenda. They keep pretending they control the flow of information. They’re determined to prove their own obsolescence. And they’ve got the ratings and circulation numbers to prove it.

Anyway. Back to me! I’d like to take this opportunity to humbly acknowledge a few of the accolades bestowed upon me. It would be ungrateful not to, don’t you think?
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Heh. And TRUE…!!!

This just goes to show that Team Obama just doesn’t get that these sorts of missions come with the job of being President, but you can’t be blinded by one “Quixotian Quest” because there are other problems.

The fact that Obama is so obsessed with getting UBL, and how he would have been “destroyed” if it had failed, once again shows that it is always about him. He spares no effort considering what would have happened to Seal Team 6 if it had possibly failed.

They’re also easier to forget. The decision to withhold a response is strategic and will either reap great benefits or deficits. With the left’s interests controlling the most visible media, it may very well be the latter. However, the best and most effective form of disseminating information is through your circle of friends. So, our task is clear.

The truth is had the Seal Team failed to get Osama, I would not have held him responsible for that. Obviously it is far better to be successful and Obama does share in that credit (the primary credit to the SEAL team that pulled it off).

But this attack on Romney is frankly bullshit (and I know BS) and diminishes Obama.

quote: Come on Team Romney, you are going to have to do better than this to win

Thats for sure. Were playing big boy politics now and ya gotta be all pro. That crap from Obama should have been countered within an hour. As we all know..the more some claim is repeated by the media..the more true it seems to voters.
Im not a huge Rove fan but you get what Im getting at…we need to control tha narrative and hit back hard at inaccurate crap from the opposition.
Sure..I get the notion that we might like to focus on ideas rather trench warfare but come on. Wanting an elevated campaign aint going to happen.
In baseball terms? Fight for every possible advantage. Every stolen base. Every extra base on a hit. Every single pitch has to be considered.
So I hope Romney puts on the pinstripes and takes it all as a matter of life and death. (symbolically I mean).
Make every inning count because the Obama team sure will.
Timely and correct responses to the other side when necessary have to be 100% accurate and include as part of the response something the otherside must defend.
And just as important? Get on the tube. Start holding press confrences. Take the fight to team Obama….right where it hurts…via media.

Watch as the Romney team throws away the election. Same as the McCain team.

And the rumor is that the Romney team is bringing in the GWBush economic team. You know, the ones that flushed the American economy and basically elected Barack Obama (along with American women, of course).

This is all so typical, so expected, so unsurprising. The Republican elite establishment would rather lose to Obama rather than change and give Conservatives a foot-hold in the Party.

And, for a couple of the hires, a cursory google search reveals that the “news” is at least seven months old.

I do not have a strong opinion about Romney’s hires: they look bad, but for all I know they opposed Bush/Rove/DeLay/Lott’s corrupt bungling. I do see a trial balloon to make the election about Bush vs. Bill Clinton, and I refuse to be taken in.

You know Mr Romney? The convention is still ahead of us. Dont think for a minute Republicans will settle for this nonsense. Yes Im sure there is another side of the story but come on. This is the best campaign money can buy?
This is simply sloppy. Lack of attention to whats happening to have this happen.